To our Dental Patients,
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our “new” normal habits and routines. While many things have changed and as we navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. The following variations have been implemented to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.
- As we open up to comply with protocols and keeping the most sanitary conditions for our patients and staff, aerosol producing procedures must be kept to a minimum as dental procedures produce an environment within the air that can harbor the virus for a period of time. As a result, we will prioritize the procedures available at this time as follows:
- Patients that have called into the clinic from 3/17 to 5/11 and who have received partial care or instructions from the dentist and/or staff for pain and swelling, will receive first priority due to resolve the issue that has been postponed.
- Patients that have called into the clinic from 3/17 to 5/11 and who have received partial care or instructions from the dentist and/or staff for sensitivity, broken teeth without pain, and problems with existing crowns will receive second priority
- Patients that have called into the clinic from 3/17 to 5/11 and who have received partial care or instructions from the dentist and/or staff for any other situation will be evaluated on a case by case basis to determine urgency and time of care.
- It is our goal to resolve these past cases within the first 2-3 weeks of resuming care. After resolution of past cases we will begin to resume regular care and at that time you may schedule your dental work. The following adjustments will be made to scheduling priorities upon resumed care.
- If you had an appointment from 3/17 to 5/11 for routine care please call into the clinic to reschedule your appointment if it has not been rescheduled already. Please be aware your appointment may not be scheduled until early or mid June in order to resolve past cases.
- Those calling in who wish to receive dental work but who did not have an appointment from 3/17 to 5/11 may make appointments, but may be asked to reschedule for patients who previously had an appointment and require more urgent attention.
- Our office will communicate with you two days prior to your appointment via telephone to ask some screening questions related to Covid-19 symptoms and exposure. You will be asked those same questions again when you are in the clinic.
- Only patient’s will be allowed into the dental clinic, with exception for children and patient’s with special needs, which then one adult will be allowed back into the dental clinic seating area after a screening has been completed. We ask that guardian’s/parent’s/family members, wait in their vehicles until the patient is done with their appointment.
- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you will be offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- When arriving
- We ask that you wait in your vehicle until dental staff is ready to assist you, which then you will be called or greeted at the door when ready.
- We ask that you bring a mask to be worn in office.
- Hand sanitizer will be available and required to utilize at arrival and departure.
- Your temperature will be taken and screening questionnaire will be reviewed, along with medical history.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at one time.
- At this time, Nitrous Analgesia (laughing gas) will not be
We appreciate your understanding and patience at this time as we implement these necessary safety precautions for patients and staff.
Our tentative start date at this time is June 8, 2020. Please follow the guidelines stated above and call our office to schedule an appointment at 507-697-8600. We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you many have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient safe in our practice.
Thank you for your patience. We look forward to welcoming you back to our office.
Sincerely,
Lower Sioux Dental Staff
